Safely Replace Broken Shingles

The job of replacing a few broken shingles is relatively easy, if you emphasize your personal safety in the process.

Most do-it-yourselfers can repair the damage when a hail storm leaves a few missing or broken tabs—the proper name for the visible part of the shingle that looks like a flap.

The ground rules are simple: don’t attempt this job if the pitch (the slope of your roof) is too steep for sure footing. In this case, hire a professional roofing contractor.

Take a piece of your broken shingle to your roofing supply outlet or home center to match size and color. You’ll probably be able to buy just a few, or you can purchase a bundle for about $10. You’ll also need galvanized roofing nails, roofing adhesive and a pry bar.

For safety’s sake, rent the appropriate safety ladder or scaffolding to reach the roof. Make your repairs on a warm, dry day. You’ll need to fold back several rows of good shingles to repair the damage. If it’s too cold, you could crack and break them. They’ll be more pliable when they’re warm.

On the roof, you’ll need to start the job two rows up from the damaged shingle. That’s where you’ll get access to the nails holding your damaged shingle in place. You’ll find the shingles also are anchored by a self-sealing tar strip, which you can loosen by sliding a pry bar along the full length of the shingle. It’s usually three tabs wide. Slide the pry bar along the full length of the shingle before folding it back to expose the roofing nails.

Next, begin tapping the pry bar under the nail heads—there’ll probably be six—and removing them without damaging the shingle below. Since shingles overlap, you’ll have to remove one nail from under each of the three tabs in the row just above the damaged shingle—and again in the row above that. Slide the damaged shingle out.

Insert the new shingle under the row of tabs above, and re-nail it with galvanized roofing nails in approximately the same locations. Then, spread a thin bead of roofing adhesive under the tabs of the new shingle and all those you folded back. Last, press the tabs flat and make sure they stick to the adhesive.